SMIrotvorets 2009 served as another lesson of tolerance

author: Lubov Kolokolova
| photo: Oleg Yarovikov

Bashkir journalists have won the All-Russian SMIrotvorets (Mass media piece maker) Printed and E-media Contest for the second year in a row. The contest was held by the Guild of Interethnic Journalism with the assistance of the RF Ministry of Regional Development.

The present contest brought three prize-winning places to our republic. Tatiana Nikitina, the journalist of Bashkortostan Radio and Aris TV Company were awarded with the first prizes. Larisa Shepeleva, the journalist of Republic of Bashkortostan took the third place in "Press" category.

The press conference held on December 3 in Bashinform News Agency was devoted to the results of SMIrotvorets 2009. Natalia Strebneva (Moscow), a representative of the Guild of Interethnic Journalism, representatives of the clergy and members of Bashkir national and cultural centres came to meet with the journalists. Sergey Kudryashov, the regional director of Argumenty Nedeli Newspaper and Vyacheslav Pan, the deputy general manager of Argumenty Nedeli Publishing House were among the organizers of the meeting.

Natalia Strebneva said that the mass media contest for the best coverage of interethnic cooperation between Russian nations and their ethnocultural development is held for the second time. And although the SMIrotvorets is only breaking the ground in the Russian media space it has become well-known and has drawn a wide response among journalists. The contest received works of more than 300 mass media, 203 regional and federal and 98 ethnic mass media among them.

The contest is aimed at stimulation of professional activity of journalists covering life, culture and traditions of people living in multinational Russia, problems of enthocultural development and cooperation, the activity aimed at enhancing the unity of the Russian nation.

This year the SMIrotvorets acquired the international status: journalist from Latvia, Ukraine and Israel applied for participation in the contest alongside with the Russian journalists. The winners were announced in Moscow on November 16 — on the World Tolerance Day.

Lyalya Biisheva, the chairman of the Bashkir national and cultural centre, said that periodical press in Bashkortostan has a kind and inspiring face. She likes that press workers write much about culture, including theatre and cinema, holidays held by national and cultural centres, raise historic problems and popularize making of shezheres (family trees).

Mitred Archpriest Valery Kulinich, the secretary of Ufa eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, reminded that in Russia people has always trusted to the printed word. That is why journalists should be very careful with their utterances and publications, especially regarding such delicate subject as interethnic relations. He compared journalists with preachers, whose words and opinion are very important for people.

As usual, in the end of the press conference, journalists were able to get answers for their questions. Natalia Stebneva urged her colleagues to take active participation in the contest and send their publications.